Contract Textile Terms Glossary

B backing/back-coating: A polymer or resin treatment applied to the back of a fabric to provide enhanced performance characteristics, including stability, seam integrity, reduced fraying and curling, and better physical performance. barrier cloth: a. A nonporous layer of nonwoven material laminated to the back of a fabric during finishing; the layer will not allow fluids to pass through and is most commonly used in healthcare applications. b. A flame-retardant material used to create an FR barrier between fabric and foam in upholstered furniture. BASF: Original manufacturer of Zeftron® nylon fiber now being manufactured and marketed by Honeywell. www.honeywell.com BASF is currently known as BASF the chemical company and is developing finishing for performance textiles. www.basf.com/textile basket weave: A variation on plain weave in which two or more warp yarns interlace with two or more filling yarns, creating a fabric that resembles the surface texture of a woven basket. bast fiber: Strong woody natural fibers derived from plants such as flax, ramie, jute, hemp, and sisal. batch dyeing: A dyeing process in which textile materials, usually 100 to 1,000 kilograms by weight, are loaded into a dyeing machine and dyed together in a batch. billiard cloth: A durable, heavyweight, fine-quality wool traditionally used for covering billiard tables. Applications now include upholstery and vertical surfaces. Woven at a wider width (72 inches) in a twill or plain weave construction, the goods are piece-dyed and then fulled to create an even and smooth surface. blanket: A blanket, also called a sample blanket, is a selection of various warp and filling combinations woven in small sections for the purpose of selecting color combinations for a given yarn-dyed fabric design or construction. bleed (bleeding): Migration of dye from fiber, yarn, or fabric when the dyed material comes in contact with a liquid medium - water, solvent, perspiration, etc. This dye migration can result in staining of adjacent, lighter-colored fiber or yarns in a fabric, or lighter fabrics or other materials that come in contact with the migrating dye. The use of poor-quality dyes, improper dye selection, or improper dyeing and finishing techniques are among the most common causes of this condition. blend: A yarn created when two or more staple fibers are blended and spun into yarn or when two or more single-fiber yarns are woven together to form a fabric. Fibers are often blended to achieve desired performance characteristics. bonded cloth: A fabric composed of two layers of material with an adhesive layer between to add strength, stability, or other desired performance characteristics. bouclé: A novelty yarn with bumps and loops; it is used to create a fabric that exhibits a knotty, loopy surface texture.bow (bowing): A weave-alignment condition in which filling yarns form one or more arcs across the width of the fabric because of uneven tension during weaving or finishing. Bow is measured by drawing a line perpendicular to the selvage at the point where the arc crosses the selvage. The maximum deviation of the arc from the perpendicular line is measured and recorded. Generally no more than one inch of bowing is acceptable. See also skew. breaking strength: The load required to rupture fiber, yarn, or fabric during a tensile test. Breaking strength is commonly referred to as the "tensile strength" of the material. The most commonly cited breaking-strength test for contract fabrics (ASTM D5034 the 'grab' method) consists of mounting rectangular fabric specimens in the jaws of a suitable tensile testing machine, and moving the jaws apart in the same plane as the fabric under specific conditions until the fabric ruptures. Breaking strength is reported as the average amount of force required to cause rupture of the specimens. Note that "breaking strength" is not a term used to describe the tear resistance of a fabric. broadcloth: A fine, tight, plain weave cloth of spun yarns, most often cotton. The original term identified cotton shirting fabric woven in widths exceeding the usual 29 inches. brocade: An elaborate jacquard-woven construction originally produced in China and Japan. It features raised floral or figured areas which are emphasized through the use of contrasting surfaces and colors. Combinations of satin or twill weaves on a plain ground or satin grounds are common. Brocades are often used for drapery, upholstery, eveningwear, and other decorative purposes. brush pill test ASTM D3511: One of several test methods designed to assess the propensity of a fabric to form fuzzy balls on the surface due to abrasion during use. The Brush Pill test consists of first rubbing fabric specimens in a circular motion against a standard nylon brush under specific load conditions in order to raise fibers from the surface of the fabric. The second part of the test consists of rubbing pairs of brushed specimens against each other using the same motion and the same load conditions to induce the formation of pills. The specimens are then rated for pill frequency by comparing them to a series of reference photographs representing a five-step scale: Class 5 = No pilling Class 4 = Slight pilling Class 3 = Moderate pilling Class 2 = Severe pilling Class 1 = Very severe pilling See also pilling.